Bigger Is Better

When it comes to regulating greenhouse gases, EPA should keep its hands off of agriculture, which is doing the job on its own, according to a new study out of Stanford University.

Crop yield improvements have reduced the need to convert forests to farmland, a process that typically involves burning of trees and other plants, which generates carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, say two Stanford Earth scientists.

"Our results dispel the notion that modern intensive agriculture is inherently worse for the environment than a more 'old-fashioned' way of doing things," said Jennifer Burney, lead author of a paper describing the study that will be published online by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.